| This study addresses the fundamental question of human values in the theatre of Edward Albee. Too often, Albee's drama has been subjected to critical attempts which seek to label Albee an absurdist, for eample, or an existentialist; such redings, however, distort the plays by prescribing rather than describing meanings. The result, then, is that human relationships are obscured.; More useful is an approach which examines Albee's works in terms of human growth or stagnation, in terms of engagement with living or refusal to be involved in life. Thus, this dissertation suggests that a new humanistic reading reveals Albee's fundamental affirmation of what it means to be a human being in relationship with others; it does not argue that characters begin with humanistic values, but that many of them realize and acquire humanity and insight in the course of a play.; This new humanistic study accordingly focuses through a close examination of Albee's plays on individual characters, their personal situations, their engagement or disengagement with others, and any growth they manifest. The first chapter surveys the critical background and clarifies the terms of the new humanism. Chapters Two to Ten examine Albee's plays, showing their continually emerging humanist themes as characters awaken from life-stifling illusions to existences based on hard-won individual discoveries. A postscript recapitulates the major findings of the dissertation. |
